“Mr. MAHARLIKA”

By Tonton Alcos Antogop

 

Like President Rodrigo Duterte, a Cebuano who is a veteran journalist also agrees changing the name of Philippines to Maharlika.

Pablo Doronio, Jr. a.k.a Junex Doronio, 61, who incidentally is running as “Congressman” of the Lone District of Lapu-Lapu City reveals, theirs, is even earlier than what Pres. Duterte did.

President Duterte recently announced in his speech in Maguindanao his preference to change the name of the Philippines to Maharlika.

“Matagal na kami, Maharlika ang dapat na ipalit na pangalan sa Pilipinas (We were early, the Philippines should be renamed Maharlika), ” Doronio told Newsph.org.

Doronio said along with his co-founders and Maharlika advocates, they met in Luneta in 2012 (July 12), the day Katipunan was founded and agreed forming the “Maharlika Socialist Party” and was supposed to officially register it as a political party in the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) but budgetary constraints prevented them so.

Doronio who wrote for Malaya, Tempo, Manila Standard, Tribune, among others said, they were told to produce P1,000,000.00 to register which they could not because most of them are just ordinary men who advocate “democratic socialism” in running the government.

He said they also are advocating federal-parliamentary and would push for organizing more cooperatives to realize distribution of income.

Asked what prompted them to change the name of the country to Maharlika, Doronio said they saw it fit.

He said Philippines connotes being subservient to the foreign masters and hence no genuine freedom.

The Spaniards named the country ‘Las Islas Filipinas’ in the 16th century in honor of King Philip ll of Spain which later officially became Republic of the Philippines when the United States of America and Spain signed The Treaty of Paris in 1898 where the latter relinquished the country to the former.

“Tama lang talaga na Maharlika kasi ang pangalang ng Pilipinas ibig sabihin di pa rin tayo lubos na malaya sa mga banyaga na sumakop sa atin, (Maharlika is right because the name Philippines means that we are not really free from the foreigners who invaded us), the Tagalog fluent Doronio said as he spent most of his time in Manila hopping from one paper to the other after he finished his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (PolSci) from Manuel Luis Quezon University (MLQU).

He also claims being a political writer to a lot of politicians including that of the late Fernando Poe, Jr. (FPJ) when the deceased ” King of Philippine Movies” ran as President in the 2004 elections (Doronio said he also worked with Sen. Gringo Honasan, ex-Sen. Loi Ejercito-Estrada and the late Cong. Bonifacio Gillego).

Now that President Duterte is spearheading the effort in changing the name of the Philippines to Maharlika, Doronio is confident that the long-time advocacy of their group would be realize.

Doronio was born to public school teachers in Borbon. He is a member of the Free Masons (Emilio Aguinaldo Masonic Lodge, Kawit, Cavite).

He is the first degree cousin of Borbon Vice Mayor Roy Doronio Melgo since his father Pablo Sr. is the elder brother of Melgo’s mother, Rosario.

Doronio is running against Mayor Paz Radaza for the congressional post of Lapu-Lapu City as Rep. Aileen Radaza opted not to run for reelection.

In 2010, Doronio also run as independent candidate for Congressman of Cebu City north.

In 2016, he transferred in Lapu-Lapu City where Aileen won.

On his second attempt on May 13, he is the official candidate of Labor Party Philippines led by Melchor Chavez who provided him the Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) to run against Mayor Radaza for the congressional post.

Doronio prides himself that all of his siblings are professionals. He is the youngest of six children.

The congressional aspirant and Maharlika advocate is a father of four, ages 23, 21, 10, and 8. His third child is the only girl among his children, describing his self as “Ina-Tay (combination of mother-father) as he prefers living alone without a wife.

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